Atlas’ Don McGowan – HO Modeler, Graphic Designer, New Dad

In college, Don McGowan’s professor advised him to strive for employment with a company he always wanted to work for. In 2005, Don sent his application to the Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc. Currently, the Graphic Designer, who creates Atlas’ advertisements and other impressively creative, eye-catching literature, is bringing his HO modeler’s sensibilities to the job, adding a little something extra to everything he designs.

Jarrett Haedrich, right, Atlas Marketing Coordinator, welcomes Don McGowan, left, to his recent surprise “It’s a Girl!” party in the Atlas kitchen. Visible seated at the table are Lorena Campos, (left), and Awilda Crespo Rivera, (right), of the Customer Service Department. Standing at rear is Bob Lawrence, Atlas O National Sales Manager.

Don, 35, has been an active modeler since age five, when his parents presented him with his first Santa Fe train set, (he still has the 0-4-0 steam switcher!) He has remained in the hobby ever since, with a few lapses here and there for things like college and his beautiful new baby girl, Nora. One of six children, Don spent the 1970’s sharing an 8’ x 8’ basement layout, built by his father, an O scale modeler, with his brothers Brian and Scott. Right from the start, he’s been using Atlas track. In ninth grade, he built a portable 4’ x 4’ layout with Atlas track, which folded into a 2’ x 2’, and brought it to class, earning an “A”.

“I’ve always believed Atlas track is the best track out there,” Don said. “I respect the quality of the product and have used Atlas track forever!” That would include his time as a member of the Nazareth Area Society of Model Engineers, (NASME), where he served as HO Director for four years when he lived in Pennsylvania. The club, located in Stockertown, PA, has quite a story of its own.

Begun in 1980 by five people, early meetings of the NASME were held in the third floor of a 5 & 10 cent store. Membership quickly grew to 33 that year and the construction of HO and O Scale layouts began. The NASME suffered a setback when an irate neighbor, incensed over the noise generated by the work, broke in and destroyed a layout platform. The perpetrator eventually had to pony up $128 to repair the damage. Fundraisers and Open Houses followed, as the club relocated to a local hobby shop, members’ homes and a furniture store. Fate took its course and in 1986, the club moved to the vacant firehouse that would later become its permanent home.

By 1991, the club had 50 members modeling in HO, O, N, LGB and S gauges, each with its own layout. Their Open House that year brought in 3,959 attendees. A Scout Night was started, and has continued ever since. The NASME was included on the list of club tours for the 1993 NMRA convention in Valley Forge, PA, during which members hosted 168 people from 28 states, three Canadian Provinces and two towns in the United Kingdom over three days.

A member of the Nazareth Area Society of Model Engineers works on the facade of the club’s headquarters, a former firehouse purchased in 1997.

The NASME bought the firehouse in 1997 for $43,500 and members have been renovating it ever since. They are now engaged in a wide variety of activities, including Toys for Tots, layout videos, a website, (http://nasme.tripod.com), and ongoing open houses, holiday events and special events for youngsters. Their HO and O layouts are built with all Atlas track, as they have been from the beginning. Don remains involved with his old club mates. He was also a member of the Housatonic Model RR Club of Fairfield, Connecticut when he resided there, and will look for a new club to join in New Jersey, once he, his wife Mary, and their darling daughter find their dream home. (The Housatonic club featured a layout outfitted with all scratch-built handmade track, while the staging yards in the track are made with all Atlas track.)

Don’s trains are currently packed away, temporarily, he says, replaced by the usual plush toys and blocks that come with new fatherhood. Don, who has as associate’s degree in advertising design and a Bachelors Degree with cum laude honors in graphic design, was an instructor at the LCTI Technical School in Schnecksville, PA, the largest technical school in the state, for five years before attaining his current position at Atlas. Don deftly bridges the gap between the technical minds of his fellow model railroaders in the Research & Development Department, and those who present what R&D creates to the world, the Marketing Department, of which he is a part. With one foot in both worlds, he often helps “translate” between the creators and the creative.

“Don has been a valuable addition to our Marketing Department, both for his artistic talent, and his extensive knowledge of model railroading,” said CEO Tom Haedrich. “Since his arrival, our ads have taken on a clean, crisp look that has increased our visibility and advertising effectiveness.”

Don and his wife, Mary, were all smiles the day they brought Nora home from the hospital in October.

“Back in college, I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to work at a model railroad company?’, and here I am,” Don summed up. His days filled with headlines and deadlines, Don has quickly become an asset to Atlas, and yet another reason why Atlas products and productions are a cut above the rest.